Archive for May, 2008
Further Thoughts on the Cause of Our Current Social Ails
Posted by David Conway in Religion on 20/05/2008
Last week I posted a blog here suggesting many of the ills currently bedevilling our society, including most notably the current knife-crime epidemic in the capital, were attributable to the Bible and its teachings having ceased to be the focus of religious education in many state schools.
That suggestion elicited several sceptical comments. These variously claimed that it was too late to put the clock back, and, in any case, the Bible wasn’t a particularly good source of moral instruction. It was open to infinite interpretation, contained some pretty dubious moral teachings, and was capable of informing the moral outlook of some very violent societies, the United States being cited as one.
continued on the Centre for Social Cohesion blog.
NHS Kaiser Permanente?
Posted by James Gubb in Health on 15/05/2008
Yesterday, the world renowned health economist and ‘father’ of managed competition, Professor Alain C. Enthoven of Stanford University, gave a lunchtime seminar at Civitas, in which he advocated the development of genuine patient-centred health care, based on integrated delivery systems and individual (cost conscious) choice in the NHS.
Those calling for integrated systems of finance, delivery, primary and secondary care are getting louder across the UK, but, according to Professor Enthoven, they must be competing: ‘Kaiser Permanente leaders recognise their money and livelihood comes from the money of satisfied members/patients who have a choice. Service improvements are driven by a recognition they could go elsewhere. Kaiser recognises they are a competitor and they welcome competition’. Listen again or view his slides here.
Big Brother’s beady eyes
Posted by Nick Cowen in Civil Liberty, European Union, Health, Tax and Spend on 14/05/2008
Is summer now the season for publications pushing increased government intrusion into private conduct? The warm air has been accompanied by the somewhat chillier sensation of the release of two reports with some joyously Orwellian titles: The Politics of Public Behaviour from Demos and Creatures of Habit? The Art of Behavioural Change from the Social Market Foundation. From the mechanisms discussed in both these titles, it seems that the aspiration to get the state more involved in people’s lives remains as strong as ever among many policymakers, but combined (perhaps dangerously) with fresh research into behavioural economics.
The Cure for the Country’s Epidemic of Violent Crime is Not Rocket Science
Posted by David Conway in Religion on 13/05/2008
Who can fail but to be deeply moved, if not humbled, by the magnanimous words of compassion spoken by the mother of sixteen year old Jimmy Mizen, London’s latest teenage murder victim?
continued on the Centre for Social Cohesion blog.
An evening in support of the London Boxing Academy
Posted by Pete Quentin in Education on 09/05/2008
Wednesday 14th of May will see the inaugural London Boxing Academy Gala Dinner. The aim of the evening will be to raise awareness about and money for the invaluable work that the Academy is doing.
An equitable solution for “top-up” fees
Posted by James Gubb in Health on 08/05/2008
In a head-to-head debate in the British Medical Journal, we argue that instead of backing away from the reality that supplementing of NHS care with private treatment is already widespread – and will become even more so as the finite budget of the NHS becomes less able to cover the medical care that people want or require – the government should instead work towards creating an equitable framework for top-up fees. This would allow access to new drugs and treatments to all, rather than just the wealthy as is the case currently.